BBSRC Institute Strategic Programmes (John Innes Centre): NISD Partner Grant

The John Innes Centre (JIC) is one of a cluster of outstanding research institutes located on the Norwich Research Park (NRP), which also includes the Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development (NISD), an institute specialising in integrating research in the natural and social sciences. Working with NISD enables JIC to enhance its global and social perspective, facilitating engagement with world-leading research in social sciences, nutritional science, environmental science and climate research. By working collaboratively, JIC's critical mass as a plant and microbial research institute is complemented with the breadth of expertise found within a university environment at the University of East Anglia and across the NRP and maximise impacts both in the UK and around the world, including the Global South.

Aims for the JIC NISD Partnership:
We have identified three key aims for this partnership grant that span JIC's four Institute Strategic Programmes, Advancing Plant Health, Building Robustness in Crops, Delivering Sustainable Wheat and Harnessing Biosynthesis for Sustainable Food and Health.

These are to:
1. Use insights from social and environmental sciences to inform crop improvement for climate resilience and sustainability.
2. Utilise crop genome editing for human health and environmental benefits, navigating technical, policy and acceptability challenges.
3. Diversify protein sources, using expertise on shifting consumer behaviour as well as opportunities and challenges to food system transformation.